The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will extend for the third time a pilot program for expedited reviews of patent applications for products and processes tied to Covid-19, according to an upcoming Friday notice in the Federal Register.
The extension comes as patent disputes over Covid-19 vaccines and treatments continue to ramp up worldwide.
The patent office said it’s issued 225 patents, as of Feb. 7, from applications granted “prioritized status” under the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program.
Patent applicants can obtain that status without paying prioritized examination and processing fees if they are filing for inventions related to the virus, or subject to Food and Drug Administration approval for Covid use.
The pilot program is set to expire on June 30, unless the patent office decides to grant another extension.
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